Ipsy vs. Birchbox

I've been getting Ipsy bags for some months now, since last fall. And I'd never had a Birchbox, but a month or so ago, there was a promo through some YouTube beauty blogger (or vlogger or whatever you want to call them) where you could get a Birchbox for $1 with free shipping. So I tried it. It was cool to try Birchbox but I'm not going to continue it. Ipsy is cheaper (I don't know where I got that idea, I think they're actually the same price, but Ipsy gives you a bag where Birchbox gives you some other extra item) and the samples seem to be equally good, although presumably not identical. And twice as many samples is just not something I need or can really afford.

Here's the Birchbox (I know anybody who cares has probably seem a million unboxing pictures/videos already but I took the pictures that way anyway):

(I did like that the card in the second picture had a list of what you got on it. That's something Ipsy doesn't do.) Note that these are not actually unboxing pictures and so this is not exactly what it looked like when I first opened the box - I didn't think to take the pictures at the time. Certainly the products were not all neatly lined up like in the last picture; I did that myself. I think there was another piece of packaging that I discarded, too - a little box like the one the perfume is in, but bigger. (I don't remember which item was inside it.)

I'm not going to list everything exhaustively, but the items here are a liner pencil, some sunscreen, a perfume sample, a BB creme, a peel-off mask, and a hair clip. I don't have a navy-blue liner so I'm sure I'll try that out, ditto the BB creme. (In fact I've never actually used a BB creme so that's something new for me.) The sunscreen is something I'll use - or I might give it to my husband to use, since he spends much more time in the sun than I do. I'll use the hair clip, I'm sure. The perfume smells pretty good. The only thing I'm really not sure I'll use is the peel-off mask, but it's possible I might.

Here's June Ipsy:

Actually this is not the very best month of Ipsy I've ever gotten, but it's not bad. I do want to try the Smashbox primer, particularly, since it's something people always talk about and I've never tried. I'll probably try out the lip stain and the eyeshadow pencil. The blue tube is something called "pores no more" which is not really one of my particular issues, but I may try it out, just the same. The big tube is hair goo meant for blowouts, and I hardly ever blow-dry my hair so I might never get around to trying that one. (I do own a dryer but I can't tell you when I last used it. Maybe I'll get inspired.)

I did really like the embossed bag, it's very cute. (It almost looks like embroidery, but I'm pretty sure it's actually embossed.) I have to say that the bags are a factor in my preference for Ipsy. I'd definitely rather have a makeup bag than just a random "extra" item in a box. Even if I can't actually use 12 makeup bags a year, still, you can switch them out, and you can put gifts in them or just give them away (and, for that matter, you can put things other than makeup in them).

Other factors: Birchbox does have a nice store that you don't have to have a subscription to use, so that's something to bear in mind. Ipsy doesn't have that kind of store but they have discounts on full sizes of the samples, usually (usually at that brand's website) and they have some periodic specials. I bought one of those the other day - it was a nail polish set, of a brand I'd never heard of - and I'll report back on that when it comes in. These special offers go up at certain times of day on certain weekdays, and I'm never one to set an alarm for sales. (There are some fancy nail polish brands I'd probably have more of if I did. It's undoubtedly better for the state of my wallet that I don't.)